Simonds’ drawings are expulsions of love and anxiety, communicating an attempt to visually resolve an internal conflict between his cultural background and sexuality. He takes inspiration from family photos, Slovak architecture, 16th-century painting, and medieval catholic relics.
He was a member of the artist team for Rirkrit Tiravanija’s who’s afraid of red, yellow, and green at Wrightwood 659 in 2022. He has helped facilitate creative elements of Chicago Artist Coalition’s “Work in Progress” annual benefit in 2019 and handled the works at auction in 2022. He received his BFA from SAIC in 2021. His first solo exhibition, titled indignity, opened at Turley Gallery in 2023.
Full CV available on request: janvictorsimonds@gmail.com
C. 2013
B. 1997 in San Diego, CA. Based in Chicago, IL.